Biomarkers in horses are measurable indicators of biological processes, states, or conditions that can be used to assess health and disease. These biomarkers can be identified in various biological samples such as blood, urine, or tissue. They provide valuable information for diagnosing diseases, monitoring health status, and evaluating treatment responses in equine medicine. Common biomarkers in horses include enzymes, hormones, and metabolites, which may change in response to physiological or pathological conditions. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the identification, quantification, and application of biomarkers in equine health and disease management.
Hultén C, Sandgren B, Skiöldebrand E, Klingeborn B, Marhaug G, Forsberg M.The acute phase protein serum amyloid A (SAA) has proven potentially useful as an inflammatory marker in the horse, but the knowledge of SAA responses in viral diseases is limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate SAA as a marker for acute equine influenza A2 (H3N8) virus infection. This is a highly contagious, serious condition that inflicts suffering on affected horses and predisposes them to secondary bacterial infections and impaired performance. Seventy horses, suffering from equine influenza, as verified by clinical signs and seroconversion, were sampled in the acute (the first 48 h...
Marc M, Parvizi N, Ellendorff F, Kallweit E, Elsaesser F.Reliable physiological markers for performance evaluation in sport horses are missing. To determine the diagnostic value of plasma ACTH and cortisol measurements in the warmblood horse, 10 initially 3-yr-old geldings of the Hannovarian breed were either exposed to a training schedule or served as controls. During experimental Phase 1, horses were group-housed, and half of the horses were trained for 20 wk on a high-speed treadmill. During Phase 2, groups were switched and one group was trained for 10 wk as during Phase 1, whereas the control group was confined to boxes. During Phase 3 horses w...
Okumura M, Fujinaga T.The role of keratan sulphate (KS) as a metabolic marker of cartilage was evaluated using an in vitro model of equine articular cartilage. Articular cartilage was harvested from clinically healthy 6-month-old foals (n = 3). Chondrocytes were centrifuged and cultured as pellets. Chondrocyte pellets were stimulated by insulin-like growth factor-I alpha (IGF-I alpha) or interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) for 2 weeks. The concentrations of sulphated glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and KS in the culture media were measured by a 1,9-dimethyl-methylene blue (DMMB) colorimetric assay and an inhibition enzyme-li...
Okumura M, Tagami M, Fujinaga T.The role of keratan sulphate (KS) as a marker of cartilage metabolism was evaluated by using an in vitro model of equine articular cartilage. Articular cartilage was harvested from clinically healthy 6-month-old foals (n=3). Chondrocytes were centrifuged and cultured as pellets. Chondrocyte pellets were stimulated by insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-Ialpha or interleukin (IL)-1alpha for 2 weeks. The sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and antigenic KS concentrations in the culture media were measured by a 1,9-dimethyl-methylene blue (DMMB) colorimetric assay and an inhibition ELISA using a 1/14/...
Smith RK, Heinegård D.Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is a noncollagenous extracellular matrix protein found predominantly in cartilage, but also in tendon, ligament and meniscus. Studies in man have demonstrated that it may be used as a prognostic marker in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. The present study investigated whether tendon injury contributes to serum and tendon sheath synovial fluid levels of COMP in horses. COMP levels, analysed by competitive ELISA, in the digital sheath synovial fluid were more than 10-fold higher than in the serum. Levels were significantly raised when tendon dam...
Kirschvink N, Art T, Smith N, Lekeux P.To test whether isoprostanes could be used as markers of oxidative stress in horses, their concentration was determined in plasma and in pulmonary epithelial lining fluid (PELF) in 3 models of oxidative stress: (1) strenuous exercise, (2) acute COPD crisis and (3) exercise combined with COPD crisis. Four horses were investigated twice, once in crisis and once in remission. The animals underwent a standardised treadmill exercise test. Isoprostane assessment was performed in plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid 24 h before and 1 h after exercise and in plasma also immediately after exercise. ...
Hoekstra KE, Nielsen BD, Orth MW, Rosenstein DS, Schott HC, Shelle JE.Sixteen Arabian yearlings were assigned randomly to 2 groups, confined to stall and pastured, to investigate the effects of confinement vs. pasture-rearing on bone mineral content and biochemical markers of bone metabolism over a 140 day period. Following an 84 day pretraining period, 6 horses from each group were selected randomly to complete a 56 day training period. Serum osteocalcin concentrations were determined from blood samples collected every 14 days. Urinary deoxypyridinoline concentrations and mineral content of the third metacarpus, as determined by lateral and medial radiographic ...
Mohr E, Krzywanek H, Pinkowski W.Monitoring training by measuring blood lactate content is a well-known procedure in sports physiology. Because of the difficulties in standardizing a test procedure in field studies, this method is fraught with considerable problems when applying it to race horses. The aim of the present study was to develop a test procedure which is able to give evidence about the training state of different race horses after nonidentical test-loads. Under almost identical environmental conditions, the level of blood lactate was determined in five trotters which were kept in training. Immediately after the si...
Fenton JI, Orth MW, Chlebek-Brown KA, Nielsen BD, Corn CD, Waite KS, Caron JP.The effect of longeing and glucosamine supplementation on known biological markers of joint disease was studied in yearling quarter horses. Twenty-one yearling quarter horses were randomly assigned to one of 4 treatments: 1) longeing (longeing 20 min daily) supplement control (LN); 2) longeing/glucosamine (LG); 3) walking (mechanical walker for 120 min daily (WN)); and 4) walking/glucosamine (WG). Oral glucosamine was administered at 5.5 g b.i.d. weeks 1-4, 3.5 g b.i.d. during weeks 5-6, and 2.0 g b.i.d. during weeks 7-8. Serum was obtained weekly for 8 wk and analyzed for keratan sulfate and ...
Art T, Kirschvink N, Smith N, Lekeux P.To test the hypothesis that reactive oxygen species could be associated to the lower airway disorders occurring in horses suffering from recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), indices of oxidative stress were studied in blood and pulmonary epithelium lining fluid in 5 RAO horses either in clinical remission or 24 h after the onset of a crisis of bronchospasm and in 5 healthy horses. Venous blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples were collected and analysed for reduced glutathione (GSH), oxidised glutathione (GSSG), total glutathione (TGSH), glutathione redox ratio (GRR) in blood hae...
Popot MA, Lacabaratz E, Garcia P, Laroute V, Bonnaire Y, Toutain PL, Cowan DA.The cortisol threshold concentration of 1.0 microg/ml in horse urine adopted by the International Federation of the racing Authorities in 1994 is specific. However, an increase in the sensitivity for the detection of cortisol administration would be helpful. Previous studies have shown that 20beta-dihydrocortisol concentration in urine would be a good indicator of cortisol administration. The purpose of the present work was to estimate the population parameters and the critical values of 20beta-dihydrocortisol and 20beta-dihydrocortisone concentration in urine compared with that of cortisol. U...
Frisbie DD, Ray CS, Ionescu M, Poole AR, Chapman PL, McIlwraith CW.To determine whether serum or synovial fluid concentrations of chondroitin sulfate epitope 846 and carboxy propeptides of type II collagen (CPII) can be used to diagnose osteochondral fragmentation (OC) in horses. Methods: 38 horses with unilateral OC of the radiocarpal (n = 31) or intercarpal (33) joints and 8 clinically and radiographically normal horses. Procedures-For horses with OC, serum and synovial fluid concentrations of epitope 846, CPII, and keratan sulfate (KS) were determined, along with synovial fluid WBC counts and total protein concentrations. Serum epitope 846, CPII, and KS co...
Schmallenbach KH, Rahman I, Sasse HH, Dixon PM, Halliwell RE, McGorum BC, Crameri R, Miller HR.Inhalant exposure to Aspergillus fumigatus (Asp. f.) antigens induces marked inflammatory and immunological alterations in the lungs of horses affected with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this study we investigated the role of specific allergen(s) present in Asp. f. on systemic and pulmonary IgE and IgG responses in control and COPD-affected horses, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblotting techniques. Compared with controls, horses affected with COPD had significantly higher levels of BALF IgE and IgG to somatic Asp. f. antigens as well as to the ...
Okumura M, Tagami M, Fujinaga T.Keratan sulphate (KS) concentration and anticollagen type II antibody levels were measured in the serum and synovial fluid (SF) of clinically normal horses and horses with osteoarthritis (OA). Serum KS in OA was significantly higher than that in normal horses, while no significant difference was found in KS levels of SF between normal and OA. Assays of antibody to collagen type II showed no significant increase in sera and SF of OA. It was suggested that levels of serum KS would be of value in the pathological detection of OA in the joint, although there was no evidence that the measurable aut...
Holland JL, Kronfeld DS, Sklan D, Harris PA.Marker methods are needed for estimating fecal output by grazing animals in studies of nutrition and environmental impact. In addition, estimates of prefecal mass and turnover time are relevant to exercise performance and certain digestive disorders. As a first step in developing marker methods for field use, a chromic oxide model of fecal kinetics was developed and tested in the context of a digestion balance experiment with stall-fed horses. The model consists of removal of feces at a constant rate from a single compartment, the prefecal mass. Four horses were fed hay, and another four were ...
Jamieson A, Taylor SC.Three general formulae calibrate the average capability of marker systems to dispute falsely reported pedigree records in uniparous species. The most familiar exclusion formula applies to paternity, although the same formula applies equally to maternity. Another formula faults the relationship of a single offspring with its putative parent; for example, where the genotype of the other parent is not available. The remaining formulae excludes both of the falsely recorded parents of a substituted offspring. Simplified forms of the three general formulae facilitate the calculation of maximal avera...
Mills PC, Roberts CA, Smith NC.To investigate the effects of ozone and airway inflammation on indices of oxidant injury in horses. Methods: 5 clinically normal horses and 25 horses referred for poor performance. Methods: Blood, tracheal wash, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples were collected before and after ozone exposure (n = 5) or from clinical cases (n = 25), and were analyzed for reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione disulfide (GSSG), and free and total iron (Fe) values. A scoring system (0 to 5) was used to assess airway inflammation on the basis of clinical signs and cytologic analysis of the tracheal wash and...
Goel S, Schumacher J, Lenz SD, Kemppainen BW.Disruption in sphingolipid (SL) metabolism is a biomarker of exposure to fumonisins. The role of altered SL metabolism in the pathogenesis of fumonisin toxicoses is not understood. A 27-d feeding trial in horses compared the toxic effects of 3 strains of Fusarium moniliforme: RRC 415, cultured from corn in MS; AU 2/3, cultured from feed associated with clinical signs of duodenitis-proximal jejunitis (DPJ) in horses in AL; and MRC 826, cultured from corn in South Africa and shown to cause equine leukoencephalomalacia (ELEM). These were cultured on corn and diluted with clean corn and grain mixe...
Tulamo RM, Houttu J, Tupamäki A, Salonen M.To investigate the presence of large molecular weight (MW) proteoglycans (PG) and hyaluronate (HA) in synovial fluid (SF) from horses with various arthritides and from control joints. Methods: Horses with acute (< 2 weeks) or chronic (> 4 weeks) lameness were examined by clinical examination, intrasynovial anesthesia, radiography, arthroscopy, and SF analysis. Joints were grouped on the basis of diagnosis: acute traumatic arthritis, chronic traumatic arthritis (with a subgroup of degenerative joint disease), intra-articular fracture, and infectious arthritis. Methods: 31 horses with arthritis ...
Price JS, Jackson B, Eastell R, Wilson AM, Russell RG, Lanyon LE, Goodship AE.In this study we tested the hypothesis that exercise induces an adaptive response in the developing skeleton which may be monitored in vivo by measuring biochemical markers of bone metabolism. The effects of exercise on two biochemical markers of bone formation were determined; the carboxy-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PICP), and the bone-specific isoenzyme of alkaline phosphatase (BAP), and one putative marker of resorption, the pyridinoline crosslinked telopeptide domain of type I collagen (ICTP). All three markers were measured for a year in 2-year-old thoroughbred horses exerc...
Palmer JL, Bertone AL, McClain H.A modification of a colorimetric assay was used to determine synovial fluid total and individual sulphated-glycosaminoglycan concentration in various clinical presentations of joint disease in horses. Concentrations of synovial fluid and serum sulphated-glycosaminoglycan (GAG) were measured by the 1,9-dimethylmethylene blue (DMMB) dye assay in normal horses (n = 49), horses with acute (n = 26) or chronic (n = 27) joint disease (defined by clinical, radiographic, and clinicopathological parameters), and horses with cartilaginous lesions at diagnostic arthroscopy, but with normal radiographs and...
Price JS, Jackson B, Eastell R, Goodship AE, Blumsohn A, Wright I, Stoneham S, Lanyon LE, Russell RG.Biochemical markers of bone metabolism were analysed in serum samples obtained from 60 horses with no history of orthopaedic disease (age 3 months-20 years). Serum levels of the carboxyterminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PICP), a marker of bone formation and the pyridinoline cross linked telopeptide domain of type I collagen (ICTP), a putative marker of bone resorption, were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Serum levels of the bone specific isoenzyme of alkaline phosphatase (BALP), another marker of bone formation, were measured by a wheatgerm agglutinin affinity (WGA) method. Total ...
The Journal of nutritionAugust 11, 1992
Volume 122, Issue 8 1706-1716 doi: 10.1093/jn/122.8.1706
Wang E, Ross PF, Wilson TM, Riley RT, Merrill AH.Consumption of food contaminated with Fusarium moniliforme causes leucoencephalomalacia and hepatotoxicity in horses, pulmonary edema in pigs and liver cancer in rats, and has been correlated with esophageal cancer in humans. The causative agents are thought to be a family of compounds called fumonisins, which have recently been shown to be potent inhibitors of sphingosine (sphinganine) N-acyltransferase. Because inhibition at this step blocks the formation of complex sphingolipids while leading to accumulation of sphinganine, we hypothesized that exposure of animals to fumonisin-contaminated ...
Gray PR, Derksen FJ, Broadstone RV, Robinson NE, Johnson HG, Olson NC.Airway obstruction and hyperreactivity are characteristics of human asthma and of "heaves," a naturally occurring respiratory disorder of horses and ponies. We measured pulmonary function and plasma immunoreactive 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (i15-HETE) concentrations in simultaneously collected carotid artery and right ventricle blood samples in five affected ponies and their age- and gender-matched control ponies. Measurements and sampling were performed before (Period A), during (Period B), and following recovery from (Period C) acute airway obstruction precipitated by housing ponies in ...
Alwan WH, Carter SD, Bennett D, May SA, Edwards GB.Degradation of cartilage in osteoarthritis of man results in the release of sulphated glycosaminoglycans, particularly keratan sulphate, into tissue fluids. A study was made to evaluate these markers for osteoarthritis in the horse. Synovial fluid and serum levels of keratan sulphate, measured by an ELISA-inhibition technique, and sulphated glycosaminoglycans measured by specific dye binding assay, were found to be significantly increased (P less than 0.001) in joints from horses with osteoarthritis, compared with normal joints. Synovial fluids from joints with infective arthritis also showed ...
Singer J, Chow L, Ammons D, Sabino I, Impastato R, Dow S, Pezzanite LM.Osteoarthritis (OA) is a aging-associated degenerative joint disease. The objective was to determine relative senescence gene expression in joints and leukocytes of OA horses toward considering senotherapeutics to manage OA. Unassigned: To define local (joint) and systemic (peripheral blood mononuclear cells [PBMCs]) senescence burden, synovial fluid cell single-cell RNA sequencing and PBMC mRNA sequencing datasets (n = 65 samples) were examined. Differential analyses were conducted using limma to compare OA versus control. A custom 3,043-gene senescence set curated from published metadata was...
Hansen S, Tecles F, Cerón JJ, From C, Carstensen H, Muñoz-Prieto A.The number of horses with equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) and equine gastric glandular disease (EGGD) recurrence when pharmacological treatment is discontinued is high. Objective: To examine if a commercially available nutraceutical compound containing lecithin, pectin, and meadowsweet could prevent recurrence of both ESGD and EGGD after omeprazole treatment, evaluated by repeated gastroscopic examinations and saliva biomarkers. Methods: Blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Methods: Thirty horses of mixed breeds and sex with a recent diagnosis and treatment of both ES...
Bueno VLC, Bastos HBA, Centeno LAM, Schmitt F, Larentis G, Mattos RC, Fiala-Rechsteiner S.The seminal plasma (SP), a fluid originating from the testes, epididymis, and accessory sex glands, represents 98 % of the volume of stallion ejaculate. Metabolomic analysis enables the identification of final products of metabolic pathways, providing insights into reproductive physiology. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the metabolomic profile of stallion seminal plasma and to investigate metabolic differences between stallions with high and low pregnancy rates, in order to identify potential biomarkers associated with fertility. Methods: Twenty-four Criollo stallions, were sampled...
Ramsaran LN, Byron M, Parry S, Lection J, Back B, Grenier J, Cheong SH, Diel de Amorim M.Real-time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is a technique that allows for the semi-quantification of mRNA transcripts present within a tissue of interest. Differences in the relative abundance of mRNA between samples detected by RT-qPCR require normalization with a reference gene or genes whose transcript abundance is stable within the tissue of interest independent of experimental conditions. In the field of equine reproductive studies, ACTB, GAPDH and B2M genes are the most widely used as reference genes for the normalization of RT-qPCR results. However,...
Zanacchi A, Fruscione F, Grasselli S, Razzuoli E, Pastorino L, Di Lisa D.Developing advanced preclinical in vitro cancer models is essential for understanding tumor biology, improving drug discovery, and enhancing the clinical translation of new therapies. Papillomaviruses (PVs) cause diverse lesions in humans and animals; notably, bovine papillomavirus (BPV) is the main cause of equine sarcoid, the most common skin tumor in horses. Its pathogenesis involves viral infection, fibroblast transformation, and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. These processes highlight the limitations of conventional two-dimensional (2D) culture systems, which fail to replicate the...
Lowndes CR, Boyle AG, Kulp J, Stefanovski D, Davis JL, van Eps A.To characterize the effects of pioglitazone (2 mg/kg, PO, either q 24 h [PIO-SID] or q 12 h [PIO-BID]) in equids with severe hyperinsulinemia. Unassigned: 17 client-owned equids with severe resting hyperinsulinemia (> 100 µIU/mL) were assigned to PIO-SID or PIO-BID in a prospective cohort study with rolling enrollment over an 11-month study period (December 13, 2022, to November 17, 2023). Basal insulin, total and high-molecular-weight adiponectin concentrations, and plasma pioglitazone concentrations were measured over 70 days. Oral sugar tests (OSTs) were performed on days 0 and 28. Results...
Milczek-Haduch D, Żmigrodzka M, Kiełbik P, Świderska B, Olędzki J, Witkowska-Piłaszewicz O.Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are promising biomarkers and mediators of intercellular communication, but their isolation from equine biofluids remains challenging. This study compared two isolation workflows-size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and differential ultracentrifugation followed by SEC (UC + SEC)-to evaluate their efficiency, reproducibility, and the proteomic composition of EVs derived from equine serum and plasma. Blood from six healthy horses was processed to obtain platelet-free plasma and serum. EVs were isolated using SEC or UC + SEC and characterized by transmission ele...
Environmental contamination with heavy metals, resulting from industrialization, urbanization, and agricultural intensification, poses serious ecological and health risks. Horses, due to their grazing behavior and close association with human environments, serve as reliable sentinel species for assessing environmental pollution. This study aimed to evaluate the bioaccumulation of heavy metals and trace elements in different biological matrices of horses-blood, hair, hooves, and synovial fluid-and to investigate their relationship with hematological biomarkers as indicators of physiological str...
Mojsym W, Kowalik S, Chałabis-Mazurek A, Janczarek I, Kędzierski W.Some correlations between serum Cu, Zn and Se and cytokines have been reported in humans. Especially, the Cu:Zn ratio corresponded with inflammation. To date, relationships between microelements and proinflammatory proteins are poorly understood in horses. The aim of the study was to evaluate whether Cu, Zn and Se may influence turnover of IL-6, IL-8 and tissue factor (TF) in breeding and working horses. Blood samples obtained from 66 horses were analysed. There were 37 pregnant broodmares of different breeds, 13 barren broodmares and 16 race Thoroughbred horses. Serum Cu, Zn and Se concentrat...
Sprenzel CJ, Amann B, Deeg CA, Degroote RL.Glycosylation of surface proteins is a crucial post-translational modification that reflects the activation status of neutrophils, the predominant leukocyte subset in humans and horses. Neutrophils have emerged as active contributors to diseases mediated by the adaptive immune system, such as equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), a sight-threatening disease in horses and a unique model for studying the pathogenesis of autoimmune uveitis in humans. Since changes in surface glycosylation can impact neutrophil function, we were interested in the surface glycosylation landscape on neutrophils from healt...
Boakari Y, El-Sheikh Ali H, Almeida GHDR, Scoggin KE, Fernandes CB, Marchio SP, Troedsson MHT, Carreira ACO.Equine placental dysfunction impairs fetal growth and disrupts pregnancy outcomes. Despite many advances in diagnosis, the molecular pathophysiology of equine placentitis and premature placental separation remains poorly understood. However, the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-α) pathway is related to placental hypoxia, and its modulation in placental diseases has been shown in other species. Therefore, we hypothesized that in conditions marked by equine placental dysfunction, oxygen deprivation in the chorioallantois membrane triggers the activation of the HIF-α pathway, which is related to m...
El-Ghaly W, El Kamli T, Zaari Lambarki L, El Hamdani M, Lahkak FE, Benmoussa A, Balouch L, Bakkali F, Saffaj T, Jhilal F.The quality of quantitative results in bioanalysis requires not only a validated analytical method but also a rigorous estimation of measurement uncertainty. This study examines the challenges associated with the implementation of two distinct approaches in equine anti-doping control for the assessment of uncertainty associated with an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry quantitative method for caffeine and lidocaine in horse urine. The bottom-up approach, based on the ISO Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (ISO GUM), was compared t...
Woodman MJ, Thomas MA, Colville MJ, Durgam S, McDonough SP, Reesink HL.To describe proteoglycan 4 (PRG4) expression, lubricin tissue distribution, and lubricin synovial fluid concentrations in healthy and injured equine flexor tendons and tenosynovial structures. Unassigned: Synovial fluid and tissues were collected over the span of 1 year. Proteoglycan 4 expression was quantified using quantitative real-time PCR, lubricin synovial fluid concentrations were measured using ELISAs, and lubricin tissue distribution was evaluated with immunohistochemistry. Histology and quantitative real-time PCR data for healthy samples were analyzed using paired t tests, repeated-m...
Yang S, Xiao J, Mu L, Li C, Dai S, Li S, Cui Y, Xu Y.Between the third and sixth centuries AD (Anno Domini), the Xianbei emerged as a dominant nomadic power in the Eastern Eurasian Steppe, distinguished by their exceptional equestrian culture and the pivotal role of cavalry in warfare. Despite their historical significance, detailed knowledge of their cavalry's weaponry and equipment-particularly armour-remains fragmentary. As a critical element of military technology, armour offers valuable insights into ancient combat strategies and cultural practices. However, research on early Chinese cavalry armour has been constrained by limited textual re...
Koçali B, Ocak M, Şekerel BE.Animal allergens, particularly those from cats, dogs, and horses, are significant risk factors for the development of allergic diseases in childhood. Managing animal allergies requires allergen avoidance and, when this is not feasible, specific immunotherapy. Patient history remains the cornerstone of diagnosis, providing the foundation for diagnostic algorithms. Extract-based tests, such as skin prick tests and specific IgE measurements, are essential for confirmation and screening. However, traditional extract-based diagnostic methods have notable limitations, as they are unable to distingui...
Payette F, Kulp JC, Graves A, Janes J, Morrow J, Orr K, Reed S, Ruby R, Stefanovski D, Johnson AL.To measure and compare CSF cytokine concentrations among horses with equine neuroaxonal dystrophy (eNAD)/equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (EDM), horses with cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy (CVSM), and control horses and to evaluate for associations with clinical parameters. Unassigned: Banked equine CSF samples from horses with neurologic disease that underwent a complete neurologic examination and postmortem diagnosis confirmation of CVSM or eNAD/EDM or from control horses were included. Cytokines were measured with an equine-specific cytokine/chemokine magnetic bead multiplex p...
Birckhead EM, Raidal SL, Das S, Raidal SR.Sepsis is a main cause of death in neonatal foals. While the syndrome is not completely understood, sepsis is a dysregulated inflammatory response of the host to infection. It can be difficult to diagnose because of varying and non-specific clinical signs and imperfect diagnostic tests. Increased circulating nucleosome levels have been detected in humans and animals with sepsis, but this has not been documented in foals. Nucleosomes are released extracellularly during neutrophil extracellular trap formation, as well as from damaged and dead cells. We analysed plasma samples from clinically hea...
Delcourt V, Pinetre J, Chabot B, Barnabé A, Cacault M, Loup B, Becher F, Fenaille F, Popot MA, Garcia P, Bailly-Chouriberry L.Data-independent acquisition (DIA) methods employing a scanning quadrupole were recently described across multiple platforms. These strategies display remarkable performances in untargeted proteomics studies thanks to rapid duty cycles, leading to ultrashort liquid chromatography gradients while maintaining enough data points per peaks when coupled to fast-scanning mass analyzer. In this article, we perform the evaluation of three data acquisition strategies named diaPASEF,slicePASEF, and prmPASEF on a trapped ion mobility spectrometry quadrupole-time-of-flight (TIMS-Q-TOF) mass spectrometer f...
Omyla K, Conley A, Varner D, Dini P.Persistent stallion-like behavior is a common sign of cryptorchidism in supposed geldings. The presence of testicular tissue can be evaluated by analyzing hormones such as testosterone and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH). Here, we used hormonal analysis to investigate relationships between the likely presence of testicular tissue and stallion-like behavior in samples submitted from presumptive geldings (n = 1,202), retrospectively. Most geldings with stallion-like behaviors had serum concentrations of testosterone (851/1,056; 80.6 %) and AMH (682/877; 77.8 %) below the laboratory reference range...
Lutvikadic I, Preldzic D, Floriano D, Hopster K.Pulse pressure (PP) reflects ventricular stroke volume and arterial compliance, but its utility as a marker of cardiac disease in animals is not well established. This study evaluated the association between PP and echocardiographically confirmed cardiac abnormalities in dogs and horses and assessed its potential in pre-anesthetic evaluation. Clinical and echocardiography examination of 20 dogs and 20 horses was sufficient for inter-group comparisons and assignments to a Cardiac group (echocardiographically confirmed cardiac disease) or a Control group (healthy animals). Non-invasive oscillome...
Helmer A, Hacohen A, Bart O.Equine-Assisted Services (EAS) encompass a range of therapeutic interventions utilizing equine interactions to achieve therapeutic goals. This study explores heart rate synchronization between horses and riders during mounted and unmounted interactions, focusing on its potential implications for emotional regulation. A total of 25 participants aged 6-12 took part in the study, which included two groups: novice riders diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (n = 15) and experienced neurotypical riders (n = 10). Heart rate measurements were obtained using Polar Equ...
Peralta AG, Raeisimakiani P, Hayashi K, Mahal LK, Reesink HL.Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) is a common sequela to joint injury in both humans and companion animal species such as horses and dogs. Despite the increasing prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) in humans, investigation of glycosylation changes associated with OA remains in its infancy. Recent advances, such as lectin microarray analysis, now enable detailed glycan profiling in complex biofluids such as synovial fluid. Using lectin microarray technology, this study characterized glycosylation patterns in synovial fluid samples from healthy and OA-affected joints in horses, dogs, and humans...
Dlugopolska D, Siwinska N, Noszczyk-Nowak A.Asthma is a multifactorial respiratory disease that naturally occurs in horses, humans, and cats, presenting common clinical signs and species-specific mechanisms. This review addresses the impact of asthma on the cardiovascular and neurological systems, with a primary focus on horses. It highlights the need for new biomarkers beyond the respiratory system due to diagnostic difficulties in animals. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed and Google Scholar, focusing on cardiovascular and neurological manifestations of asthma in humans, horses, cats, and experimental animal...
Domańska D, Witkowska-Piłaszewicz O, Trela M, Pawłowski K, Pawliński B, Domino M.Mastitis is an emerging health concern in lactating mares, particularly given the growing commercial interest in mare's milk. This study evaluated the diagnostic potential of acute phase proteins (APPs), specifically serum amyloid A (SAA), milk amyloid A (MAA), and haptoglobin (Hp), measured in blood and milk as indicators of clinical and subclinical mastitis. Twenty-four Thoroughbred mares were prospectively monitored during lactation and weaning. Plasma and milk samples were collected and analyzed using commercial ELISA kits. Plasma SAA concentrations were significantly higher in mares with ...
Lanning BA, Smith CM, Ugale C, Nazarenko E, Marchand WR.Equine-assisted services (EAS) are used for civilian and military trauma survivors to reduce depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms. While early scientific evidence supports the benefits of EAS, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying these benefits are unknown. The specific aims of this exploratory study were to determine (1) whether functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) neuroimaging can be used to explore neural responses of EAS veteran participants and (2) the correlation between neural responses and psychological outcomes of the participants interacting with equines. Fif...
Harbowy RM, Nielsen BD, Colbath AC, Robison CI, Buskirk DD, Logan AA.Though circular exercise is commonly used in equestrian disciplines, it may be at the detriment of horses' musculoskeletal system. To investigate the effects of circular exercise on bone and joint health, 42 lambs were randomly assigned to a non-exercised control, straight-line, small circle, or large circle exercise regime at a slow (1.3 m/s) or fast (2.0 m/s) speed for 12 wk. Blood samples were taken biweekly. Animals were humanely euthanized upon study completion, and the fused third and fourth metacarpals were collected for biomechanical testing and bone density analysis. Fast groups were ...
Taylor WTT, Delsol N, Oelze VM, Mitchell P, Stricker L, Lavin M, Ogundiran A, Hosek L, Barrón-Ortiz CI, Ojediran O, Quintero-Bisono D....Domestic equids were central to the initial colonization of the Atlantic coast of the Americas, a process partially chronicled by historical records. While Spanish colonists brought horses to the Caribbean decades earlier, settlement of the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, was among the first dispersals of horses to the eastern seaboard. Archaeozoological analysis of identifiable domestic equid remains from two contexts associated with the initial occupation of Jamestown demonstrates intense processing and consumption of the first Jamestown horses during the "Starving Time" winter of 160...
Friend MM, Nicodemus MC, Lemley CO, Cavinder CA, Prince P, Holtcamp K.Substance withdrawal presents a barrier to substance use disorder (SUD) recovery in part due to symptoms implicating neurotransmitters and their metabolites. Despite this relationship, research investigating alternative treatments such as psychotherapy incorporating equines (PIE) have primarily targeted vital signs and cortisol concentrations. Previous research has also proposed benefits of human-horse physiological coupling, but the role of neurotransmitters in the relationship between humans and horses during PIE has not yet been investigated. The purpose of this study was to characterize ne...
Souto PC, Santos MR, Orozco AMO, Bento LD, Ramirez-Lopez CJ, Girardi FM, Machado JCA, de Oliveira LL, da Fonseca LA.We aimed to develop a species-specific ELISA for qualitatively and quantitatively determining serum amyloid A (SAA) in horses. Current methods for measuring SAA in horses utilize ELISA or immunoturbidimetric tests designed for human SAA, which are not specific to horses. Mice and rabbits were used to generate polyclonal antibodies against equine SAA. The study examined serum samples from 32 horses with acute inflammatory disease (SG) and 25 clinically healthy horses. Furthermore, the SAAeq kinetics were observed in three horses from the SG group at three different timepoints. The SAA-ELISA est...
Naber A, Kreuzer L, Zink R, Millesi E, Palme R, Hediger K, Glenk LM.This exploratory study aimed to analyse physiological interaction processes in equine-assisted-therapy (EAT) between client, therapy horse and therapist. Methods: We measured heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV) and cortisol levels before, during and after a standardized therapy session and a control condition in one therapist, four therapy horses and ten female clients in emerging adulthood (Mn = 21.8 years, SD = 3.39). The clients were diagnosed with mild (N = 5) to moderate (N = 5) intellectual disability (ID). Results: There was no significant change in the client's HR, HR...
